06

Aug 2007

I caught a blog entry this morning from a blogger named Becca.Â While I don’t know Becca I know her cause is near and dear to the readers of this blog, so I thought I’d share her story and ask you to help.

That’s how I feel about the JDRF: passionate.

I’m passionate about fundraising for this cause.
I’m passionate about volunteering for this cause.
I’m passionate about telling anyone and everyone about this cause.

Because there needs to be a cure.Because I need a cure.

I’ve been diabetic for almost seven and a half years–about 2700 days. I’ve checked my blood sugar approximately ten to twelve times a day since late March, 2000 which means that I’ve pricked my finger about 30,000 times since that day in 2000. And if you want to know the truth, it’s probably more often than that. I’ve changed my infusion set for my insulin pump around 900 times. I’ve been hospitalized twice and in the ER more times than I care to count. I see my doctor every three months. I have her on speed-dial. When I call the Target Pharmacy, I simply say “This is Becca” and they prepare to refill my prescriptions. If I don’t answer my phone, my friends and family start to worry about me because in the past, they’ve had to call the paramedics for me. Or watch me have a diabetic seizure. And you know, it feels really good to be loved, but it really sucks to have to say “I’m sorry” when I see their worried faces and to know the stress I’ve caused my husband and my sister and my niece and my friends…no one should have to live with that. And no one should have to witness what they’ve seen these past seven years.

Bobby was diagnosed 160 days ago which means that he’s checked his blood sugar more than 1100 times and had 632 insulin injections. To see those numbers in black and white is staggering. And it kind of makes me sick to my stomach, because it doesn’t have to be like this. With a cure for this disease all of these steps could be eliminated.

I want people to understand that as hard as is it to be diabetic, it’s much harder to love someone & have them be diagnosed with this disease. It’s a punch in the stomach that you aren’t ready for. It knocks the wind out of you. This disease, while not a death sentence, isn’t exactly a walk in the park either. I’ve never said this before, but I’m scared for my nephew–for the road he has ahead of him. What about sports? Puberty? The Teenage Years? Will he find a spouse who is as loving and understanding as I have? What if? What if?What if?

Please, I am begging you for your help.
Whether you have ten dollars or ten thousand dollars to donate, every penny truly does make a difference!
Whether you can walk with us on Walk Day or not.or not. (But we’d really like it if you would join us!)
We can’t do it alone–we need your help.

One thing you can say about me is that I’m passionate about this cause.
About educating others about this disease.
And if you’re in the Omaha area, tune to the Fox station (Channel 42) on Monday at 10 a.m. because I’m passionate about the JDRF and I’m ready to tell all of eastern Nebraska about that passion.